I Dare You
by BlackBaby
Summary: "Don't you see? That's what started everything, these stupid dares. I could never turn one down and look where I am now! I can't be the daredevil anymore, Colt! I can't do this!"
1. Prologue

"I dare you to put the gun down, Sam. I dare you."

Samantha Hill had always been a daredevil. She was the class clown, causing laughter in the most serious of times, daring to speak out against teachers and administrators. When you played truth or dare at parties, you hoped to be the one who got to dare Sam. She did anything. Her friends admired it in her, people loved it about her, but sometimes it got her into trouble.

"Come on Sam, you can't turn down a dare, can you?"

She clutched the revolver in her sweating hands, swallowing hard. She thought of the events that had brought her to where she was right then, aiming a gun at her two supposed best friends.

"Sam?"

"**What?"**

Her voice was hoarse, like she hadn't spoken in days. The gun trembled in her hands, but she kept aim. Colt spoke to her through a bullhorn on the other side of a police barrier. A large crowd of students were gathered, worried and scared, some crying. Howard and Zoe crouched on the ground, holding each other, cowering at the sight of a gun pointed at them.

"You need to do the dare, Sam. You're the king of dares, you can't pass it up! Put the gun down and keep your title,"

Sam turned her head slightly to address him, but kept her gun trained on Howard and Zoe. "I can't."

"Why not, Sam?"

"Don't you see? That's what started everything, these stupid dares! I could never turn one down and look where I am! I'm in deep shit and I can't be the daredevil anymore, Colt. I can't do your dare!"

"Sam, you can do it. Just put the gun down slowly."

"No, I can't! You don't understand at all!" Her throat closed up and she felt the tears falling. "This is so fucked up, it never had to come to this, but it did!"

"Why do you want to hurt Howard and Zoe?"

"You **know** why, don't pretend you don't!" Sam's finger tensed on the trigger and Colt sucked in his breath. She relaxed her grip and he sighed.

"Okay, maybe I do know, but this isn't the way. This isn't the answer."

"Yes, it is! Why don't you tell them why this is the answer, Colt? Do it or I'll shoot." Sam swallowed hard again and looked back and forth between Colt and Howard and Zoe. Colt sighed.

"Fine, I'll tell them. But this is a deal. You don't shoot if I cooperate?"

"Whatever!"

Colt turned to face the crowd of onlookers. Some looked horrified that he was somehow associated with this hostage situation, but he paid no mind. "Everybody, if Sammy wants me to do this then I will. There's an important reason to what she's doing, and you all have a right to know."

Sam nodded slightly, staring at Howard and Zoe.

"**It started like this,"**

**Oooh, cliffhanger. Tell me what you're thinking of this so far so I know whether or not to continue**


	2. I'll Never Stop

_Dear Journal, 11/13/11_

_They call me the dare king. I know I'm a girl, and it would normally be dare "queen" but that sounds stupid, doesn't it? The _queen _of dares. No, king definitely sounds better. Why do they call me that? The title is pretty self- explanatory. I can't turn down a dare, it doesn't matter what it is, I'll do it. I've done some pretty crazy shit at parties. Dares+alcohol+me= yikes. I'm pretty sure I made out with Amanda at Hector's Halloween party, and somehow Colt and Hector were both okay with that. I can strip down to nothing and run around the block without batting an eye. Sometimes dares get me into trouble though. Like when Hector dared me to jump from my roof to the tree in my backyard, I did it of course. I didn't expect to break my arm and get a concussion, but that's life I guess. _

_Colt hates me being the dare king. It's not because he's jealous, he is quite the dare master himself, which is why we're the perfect couple. It's because he's worried about me. At first he thought it was cool, or cute, or fun, or hot or something, but now he gets freaked out. I guess as we get older, dares start getting more intense and shit so he gets more paranoid that I'm gonna die in some freak accident or something. Not that I blame him. I can't stop doing dares though, it's like a drug I guess. And that high of doing the dare and the amazing feeling or knowing you completed it is worth a broken arm or a concussion or anything!_

_Yesterday, Colt told me that I needed to give up my title. The nerve of him, am I right? Like seriously, I'm a big girl and I don't need him to take care of me like that. He acts like he's some saint compared to me, and it's disgusting. He acts like he's never done anything wrong in his life. Just because he doesn't get into parking lot fights as often as he used to doesn't mean he can tell me what to do. _

_I'll never give up my proud title of the dare king. It makes people respect me more, which is kind of ironic given that I do really gross and disrespectful things for dares. _

_So yeah. That's what they call me. The Dare King. It really does have a nice ring to it. And I realize that you're just a notebook, but I can tell you way more than I tell Colt, or Zoe, or anyone. Because you won't judge me for the dares I do, right?_

_Sam_


	3. Starting Off

_December 12__th__, 2010_

"Hey, how is she?" Hector and Amanda rushed into the ER wing of the Centerscore Hospital to find Colt already pacing, clearly distraught. Zoe sat in a chair, tapping her foot and looking down. Sam's mom was on her way home from a business trip, but wouldn't be back until late that night.

"I don't even know, man. All they said is she has a concussion and a broken arm, but they won't let anyone in yet. I swear to god, I knew that dare was a bad idea. I _knew_ it was a bad fucking idea, but you had to make her do it anyway. I should just knock you out right now." Colt loomed over Hector and rolled up his sleeves, as if he was about to punch him. Amanda quickly stepped between them.

"Colt, you need to chill the fuck out. You _know_ Sam would have done the dare anyway, no one _made _her do anything. If you really care about Sam, worry about her instead of throwing around the blame, okay?"

Colt closed his eyes and sucked in a breath. When he opened his eyes, he sighed. "Look, Hector, I'm really sorry, I just-"

"Don't even worry about it. Just relax, I'm sure she's gonna be fine."

Colt nodded slightly, as if to reassure himself that it was true. The 3 of them sat in chairs next to Zoe, not speaking. Their other friends began to trickle in slowly, with still no word about Sam after hours.

Finally, a doctor entered the waiting room and approached Colt. "Is there a family member I can speak to?"

Colt shook his head. "Her mom won't be here until late, but I'm her boyfriend."

"Alright. She has a bad concussion and a broken arm. That's the worst of it. She's going to be just fine in a few days, and she'll be able to go home by next week. Can you tell me exactly how she sustained these injuries?"

Colt scratched the back of his head. "Uh, well she got dared to jump from the roof to a tree that was really close. She always does dares, but I tried to tell her not to 'cause I had a bad feeling, you know? But she did it anyway, and she made the jump. But the branch she landed on snapped after a few seconds and I guess she landed bad."

The doctor nodded. "Okay, well she's awake now. You can see her one at a time. I assume you'll be going first? Room 104."

"That'd be right." He made his way down the hall and to a room. There, Sam lay in a hospital bed hooked up to machines. She was awake, sitting up, with her arm in a cast. He rushed over and sat by her. "Sammy, I literally thought you were dying. You're not, right?"

Sam laughed. "No, I'm fine. Just banged up. I'll be out of here in a day."

Colt laughed shakily and leaned back in his chair. "I can't believe you got hurt."

Sam shrugged. "I knew it would happen one day. I don't regret it."

Colt's jaw dropped. "You don't regret jumping out off the roof and breaking your arm? And getting your head fucked up?"

Sam shook her head and cracked a grin. "All for a dare, right? You know how it is Colt, don't make such a big deal out of it. And don't act like you've never gotten hurt because of a dare, I was there when that wild goat kicked your ass, remember?"

Colt rolled his eyes. "That was different, Sam."

Sam sat up a little. "How is it different? You can be reckless and irresponsible, but I can't? Yeah right, bring on any fucking dare, I'm up for it. Now get out, and tell Zoe to come in." Sam flopped back onto her pillows. Colt sighed and got up. As he walked back to the waiting room to get Zoe, he thought about what Sam had said. Sure, he was reckless and irresponsible, so why couldn't she be? Sam was a stubborn person, and she was going to do what she wanted regardless of what Colt said. He only hoped that she'd never have to deal with more than a broken arm and a concussion, though he knew it wasn't true.


	4. The Straw That Started It

It was a Friday night, and seated at a table for 4 inside the Oceanside Obelisk, were none other than Zoe, Howard, Sam, and Colt. Zoe and Howard sat on one side of the table, with Sam and Colt on the other. Colt looked down at his lap, it was obvious that he was on his phone, and Sam picked at her cuticles. Neither of them had been interested in this double date, but after much pestering from Zoe, Sam had finally agreed. Getting Colt to come hadn't been too hard either, she told him that if he went he may or may not have gotten 'lucky' that night. He took this to mean he would, but Sam would probably choose the latter.

The group was quiet for a while, the only sounds were other guests chatting and the clanking of dishes from the kitchen. Finally Zoe ended the awkward silence and spoke.

"So, you guys are approaching your anniversary, aren't you? That's cool." She smiled, trying to diffuse the awkward situation. Sam nodded slightly. "You bet, one whole year, right?" She nudged Colt slightly. He looked up from his lap. "What?"

Sam bit her lip. "Never mind." She went back to her cuticles. Zoe and Howard glanced at each other, before finally deciding not to try anymore. They weren't talking.

. . .

Later that night, Sam had gone home with Colt. They went to 3rd base before Sam stopped him.

"Come on, Sammy! You said if I went on that date with your lame cousin and her lamer boyfriend that we'd have sex!"

Sam barked out a laugh. "Yeah, right. You think I'd actually promise you sex? I'm not stupid. I said 'lucky'. They don't mean the same thing. And my cousin is_ not_ lame, she's just…perky." She got up from his bed and adjusted her shirt, which was crooked and almost off. Colt groaned and groped around in the dark for his shirt, which had already been taken off in the process. He flipped a lamp on and found his shirt at the foot of the bed, crumpled up. "Whatever. Maybe I'm just not sure what a 'normal' relationship is supposed to look like. Maybe I only know dysfunctional ones." Sam stood up abruptly and grabbed for her purse, which was lying on the floor near his bedroom door.

"Sammy, wait."

But she was already out the door.

. . .

When Sam got home that night, Zoe was in their room, brushing her long brown hair. She had on a silk nightgown and her pretty face was scrubbed clean of any makeup. She looked sainted compared to Sam, who was pretty sure had tear stains and makeup all over her face from crying, and who's clothes weren't even on right. She slammed their bedroom door with a thud and stalked over to her bed, jumped under the covers, and pulled them over her head. Zoe turned from the mirror to look at Sam.

"Sam, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," She said, but it was muffled by the blankets. " I'm totally fine, and I don't want to talk."

Zoe was about to speak up again, but she didn't. She quietly put down her hairbrush and went to turn off the light. She climbed into her bed next to Sam and snuggled under her covers.

"Goodnight, Sam," She whispered.

No response.


End file.
